AbstractOne of the keys to successful essay
writing is mastering topic sentences and transitions.
When students are able to successfully use these two
types of sentences at the beginning and end of each
paragraph, they will greatly increase the overall smoothness
and flow of their writing. In this lesson, students
will learn about the purposes of these types of sentences,
their placement in the essay, and how to write them.

Purpose – The
goal of this lesson is for students to explore the
purposes and techniques for writing
topic sentences and transitional statements.

ObjectivesStudents will be able to:
1. Identify the purpose of both a topic sentence and a transitional
statement.
2. Write a topic sentence which denotes the paragraph topic and the
author’s stand on that topic.
3. Write an effective transitional statement which connects the ideas
of a preceding paragraph to those of a subsequent paragraph.

National English Education
StandardStandard
5: Students employ a wide range of strategies
as they write
and use different writing process elements appropriately
to communicate with different audiences for a
variety of purposes.

Teacher BackgroundThe teacher should be familiar with the
purposes and components of topic sentences as well as
transitional statements. The topic sentence precedes
each paragraph and gives the main idea of that paragraph.
This sentence is very similar to the thesis statement
in that it contains both the topic and the author’s
opinion on that topic. Transitional statements conclude
each paragraph and connect the ideas of that section
with the ideas which are presented in the succeeding
paragraph. This adds to an overall smoothness in writing
style due to the connections drawn between related topics.

Activity
1. Before class begins, take the 5 student essays you have
copied. They should be typed, have no grading marks
on them, be written on different topics if possible,
and the name of the writer should be blotted out. Take
these essays and cut them up by paragraph- make sure
you choose student papers that have good use of topic
sentences and transitions. Place the cut up paragraphs
in a box. You may wish to cut the paragraphs in such
a way that the edges of the paper no longer match up
perfectly (thus making it harder for students to simply
match paragraphs like puzzle pieces).

2.
As students enter the room, be waiting for them at the
door with
the box of cut up paragraphs. When the students are
seated,
instruct them that they have been given pieces of various
essays that you want them to re-assemble. They must read
over the
paragraph they have and then wander around the room, comparing
their paragraph to those of other students. The goal of the
activity is for the students to match up their paragraphs
based on subject matter and transitions, and form five
complete essays.
Tell the students that once they find the students who are
holding the other paragraphs that are in the same essay,
they must work together to order them properly (introduction
first,
followed by the body paragraphs and conclusion). Give the
class about 10-15 minutes to find their missing counterparts.

3.
When the class has re-assembled their paragraphs into
complete essays, check their work to see that they make
sense and that
the paragraphs are ordered correctly. You may want to have
them tape the essays back together and tape them to the
board, so that other groups may come up and evaluate
the essays
to determine whether or not they make sense. Have students
put
a checkmark next to the essays that make sense, and an “X” next
to those which they feel have been mismatched. You may
want to read a few essay sections aloud and let the class
evaluate
how they sound- are the paragraphs correctly ordered?

4.
After this activity is completed, ask the class to describe
the process by which they were able to match up the paragraphs.
What parts or sentences of the paragraph were especially
essential to making sure the paragraphs were in the right
order? (the
first and last sentences). Explain to the class that
their task was made easier by topic sentences and transitional
sentences. Ask the class to explain what the purpose
is
of the first (topic)
sentence and the last (transition) sentence. If students
are unsure, explain that a good topic sentence should
come at the
beginning of the paragraph and state the overall subject
to be discussed in that section. A good transition sentence
comes
at the end of the paragraph, and connects the ideas of
that section with the ideas to come in the next section.
This
creates a smooth flow of ideas from one section to the
next, and makes
it easier for the reader to follow the path of your argument.

ClosureAnswer any questions the students may have,
and then allow them to review their final project essays, looking
specifically at their topic sentences and transitions. Encourage
the students to evaluate their paragraphs carefully, to see
if the ideas are clearly stated and connected from section
to section. Students should make corrections where needed.

Homework Students should
work on their final project essays.

Embedded
AssessmentDuring
the activity, check to make sure students are re-assembling the
cut up essays correctly, relying on the topic sentences and transitions
of each paragraph as a guide. When the final project essays are
evaluated, the use of topic sentences and transitions should
be evident.

PULSE
is a project of the Community Outreach and Education
Program of the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences
Center and is funded by: